Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

Quickly Ariana returned to the second floor. Kaitlynn was right where Ariana had last seen her, doing her own private dance in the center of the dance floor as if no one else was there, her eyes closed, her arms thrown over her head. Ariana watched her for a moment, letting Kaitlynn have her fun. But then, it was time. Time to put the final phase of the plan in motion. Time to end this, once and for all. Kaitlynn had a job to do, even though she didn’t know it yet. A skitter of excitement raced over Ariana’s skin but was quickly cooled by an icy cold shell of resolve. She took a deep breath, stormed through the room, and grabbed Kaitlynn’s arm.

“Come on. We have to go,” she said urgently.

“What? Go where?” Kaitlynn demanded, tripping in her cat-heels as she was dragged from the room.

“Anywhere,” Ariana said under her breath as she reached the top of the stairs. She looked around behind her, checking over both her shoulders. “The jig is up, Lily. We’re going on the run. Now.”

Kaitlynn’s eyes widened, an almost comical sight behind the black vinyl mask. “What? Why? What happened?”

Ariana huffed an impatient sigh and pulled Kaitlynn toward the far wall and the window overlooking the tiny, fenced-in backyard. She took in a shaky breath and looked Kaitlynn in the eye. “Lexa is hiring a private investigator to look into Lillian Oswald’s past.”

“What?” Kaitlynn stepped backward into the wall. “No. She wouldn’t. She doesn’t have the balls.”

“Apparently she does,” Ariana replied through her teeth. “And if he finds out the truth about you, he’s going to find out the truth about me. We have to get out of here, Kaitlynn. We’ve had our fun, but it’s over. We’ve gotta bail.”

Ariana moved away, going for the stairs, but Kaitlynn’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Wait a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute,” Ariana said impatiently.

“You said she’s hiring a PI, not that she already hired him,” Kaitlynn said, her eyes flat. “Has she met with him yet?”

Ariana blinked, confused. “No. Not yet. They’re meeting to night.”

Kaitlynn’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

Ariana hesitated for a long moment. “What does it matter? Wait. You’re not thinking of—”

“We have worked way too hard to get where we are,” Kaitlynn said fiercely, stepping up to Ariana. “And I am not going to let that self-serving bitch ruin it. So tell me. Where the hell are they?”

“I . . . she said . . .” Ariana blinked a few times, tears of uncertainty shining in her eyes. “She said she was going to meet him at her parents’ house to avoid suspicion.”

“Address, please?” Kaitlynn said stoically.

Ariana fumbled with her purse and extracted her cell. She scrolled to Lexa’s name and turned the screen to face Kaitlynn. Her eyes flicked to the address.

“Thanks, A,” she said, shoving past Ariana. “I’ll see you back at the room.”

“Wait. Shouldn’t we . . . I don’t know . . . think about this?” Ariana said.

Kaitlynn paused at the top of the stairs, her hand clutching the filigree on t

he banister. She looked at Ariana and laughed derisively. “Being on the outside has softened you, A. Don’t worry. I got this. You can thank me later.”

Then she barreled down the stairs and was gone. Ariana turned shakily toward the window and looked down at the revelers below. Then she focused on her own reflection in the pane, took a deep breath, and lifted her lips in a smile as cold as ice.

FREED

Ariana had the cab drop her off five blocks from Lexa’s parents’ house. As the car pulled away, she yanked out her cell phone, dialed Nathan Dove, and started walking. He picked up on the third ring.

“Hello, Mr. Dove, this is Lexa Greene,” Ariana said. “I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel our meeting.”

“I was just on my way to meet you,” the man replied, his voice gruff.

“I’m sorry for the late notice, but at least this way I won’t take up any more of your time,” Ariana said as she speed-walked along ivy-covered brick walls and past iron gates with serious security systems. She only hoped that Lexa’s place didn’t have such daunting barriers.

“Kids,” Nathan Dove said. Then the line went dead.

Ariana shoved her phone back into her bag as she came around the corner and spotted the white-columned Greene manse across the street. She blew out a relieved sigh when she saw that the gates had, mercifully, been left open. Most likely Lexa had left them ajar for the private investigator.